Sound Bite: Hear Highlights from the Year’s First Festivals

The East Coast may be enduring an intense cold spell (read: bomb cyclone) but that just gives us an excuse to stay inside all weekend and warm up to this week’s music releases. Cardi B and Bruno Mars hit us with a time warp back to the ‘90s in the form of the video for the catchy remix to “Finesse” and it’s a visual masterpiece. The video offers a tribute to the ensemble sketch comedy In Living Color – a nostalgia trip we didn’t know we needed to start 2018 off on the right foot. Other new releases include “Filthy” from pop dream boat Justin Timberlake, the album POST from anti-establishment songwriter Jeff Rosenstock, and “All The Stars” from Kendrick Lamar and SZA.

Aside from these new bangers, many festival lineups of 2018 were also announced, sending music lovers into a frenzy. The surprise release of the 8th annual Governors Ball Music Festival lineup offered New Yorkers a reason to truly celebrate the start of 2018 with a motley crew of headliners including Eminem, Jack White, Travis Scott and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The biggest coup was the reunion of punk band The Gaslight Anthem in honor of the tenth anniversary of their album The ’59 Sound. Halsey, Khalid, LANY, Billie Eilish and plenty more round out the lineup, while one name is mysteriously blocked out. This year’s Gov Ball is set for June 1 – 3.

Meanwhile, West Coast music lovers rejoiced with the confirmation that Queen Bey would in fact be headlining Coachella after canceling her appearance last year due to her pregnancy. Along with Beyoncé, The Weeknd and Eminem also claimed top spots. With nearly top billing for ladies like SZA, St. Vincent, HAIM and Cardi B, Coachella seems to have made an effort to create a female-centric slate. Plus, with newcomers MAGIC GIANT, Declan McKenna and the Regrettes, the star-studded fest is serving a range of musical diversity.

Finally, festival goers were presented the Boston Calling lineup, which features indie-darlings The Decemberists, hip-hop sweetheart Khalid and punk rockers The Menzingers. Top-billed artists include Eminem – who appears to have a busy summer ahead of him – Las Vegas rockers The Killers and former frontman of the White Stripes, Jack White. The three-day New England festival will be held at the Harvard Athletic Complex, May 25 – 27.

With music festivals (and warmer days) to look forward to, new artists to discover and old ones to revisit, we’ve compiled our favorite songs to serve as your weekend’s soundtrack.